LOL is a catastrophically popular acronym that has come to dominate the internet. My 80 year old grandmother sends me texts that end in LOL (yes, in all caps), so that's how you know it's culturally established. One of the key factors in establishing the legacy of LOL has been the huge amount of blogs that have dedicated their content to things that make you Laugh Out Loud. This doesn't necessarily mean that they feature LOL anywhere in their title, but it does mean that the blog creates a laughable situation out of something mundane, sad, or actually kind of disturbing. Here are some of the best examples:
1. LOLcats (I can haz cheezburger-this is my personal favorite)
I can haz cheezburger is almost single-handedly responsible for initiating the LOL movement. Many office workers have spent hours sitting in front of their computers, refreshing the LOLcats webpage. Many can imagine their own cats acting in the same ways as the ones in the pictures (really, it's not too hard to take a terrible picture that makes the cat's eyes glow) and others wish their cats were just that cool. Everyone thinks the comments are witty, and that misspellings of really common words make the site even more endearing.
2. Imma Let You Finish (http://kanyegate.tumblr.com/)
After Kanye West solidified his status as a first-class attention hog at the 2009 MTV VMAs, the internet exploded with pictures, animations, and quotes that mimicked the rapper. There are an endless amount of scenarios that can generate competitive dialogue, so comparing any two things with one popular statement in front of them can elicit a giggle out of almost anyone. These can be politically relevant and possibly a little offensive ("Egypt, Imma let you finish, but Lybia has the best political uprising of all time) or highly personalized, creating fun for the whole family,
3. Failblog (http://failblog.org/)
Again, videos, pictures, animations, or anything you like. These "fails" range from the violent (people throwing things and then hitting themselves on the head and passing out), to the hilarious (anything unnecessarily phallic), to the i'm-so-glad-this-isn't-me (brides getting knocked into a pool at the alter).
4. Hipster Puppies (http://hipsterpuppies.tumblr.com/)
Similar to LOLcats, Hipster Puppies shows pictures of dogs, often dressed up in ridiculous ways, with captions that emphasize the futility of originality in the postmodern era. For example, "Penny fears Kindles, because 'then how will people know what you're reading?'"
5. Hot Chicks with Stormtroopers (http://www.hotchickswithstormtroopers.com/)
Yeah. This exists. This points out two important things about modern society: a) People will never let go of the hot girl and really nerdy guy scenarios and b) Stormtroopers are somehow still relevant enough that a large amount of people find this kind of thing amusing (and are willing to pose with stormtroopers).
Overview
LOL is a catastrophically popular acronym that has come to dominate the internet. My 80 year old grandmother sends me texts that end in LOL (yes, in all caps), so that's how you know it's culturally established. One of the key factors in establishing the legacy of LOL has been the huge amount of blogs that have dedicated their content to things that make you Laugh Out Loud. This doesn't necessarily mean that they feature LOL anywhere in their title, but it does mean that the blog creates a laughable situation out of something mundane, sad, or actually kind of disturbing. Here are some of the best examples:
1. LOLcats (I can haz cheezburger-this is my personal favorite)
I can haz cheezburger is almost single-handedly responsible for initiating the LOL movement. Many office workers have spent hours sitting in front of their computers, refreshing the LOLcats webpage. Many can imagine their own cats acting in the same ways as the ones in the pictures (really, it's not too hard to take a terrible picture that makes the cat's eyes glow) and others wish their cats were just that cool. Everyone thinks the comments are witty, and that misspellings of really common words make the site even more endearing.
2. Imma Let You Finish (http://kanyegate.tumblr.com/)
After Kanye West solidified his status as a first-class attention hog at the 2009 MTV VMAs, the internet exploded with pictures, animations, and quotes that mimicked the rapper. There are an endless amount of scenarios that can generate competitive dialogue, so comparing any two things with one popular statement in front of them can elicit a giggle out of almost anyone. These can be politically relevant and possibly a little offensive ("Egypt, Imma let you finish, but Lybia has the best political uprising of all time) or highly personalized, creating fun for the whole family,
3. Failblog (http://failblog.org/)
Again, videos, pictures, animations, or anything you like. These "fails" range from the violent (people throwing things and then hitting themselves on the head and passing out), to the hilarious (anything unnecessarily phallic), to the i'm-so-glad-this-isn't-me (brides getting knocked into a pool at the alter).
4. Hipster Puppies (http://hipsterpuppies.tumblr.com/)
Similar to LOLcats, Hipster Puppies shows pictures of dogs, often dressed up in ridiculous ways, with captions that emphasize the futility of originality in the postmodern era. For example, "Penny fears Kindles, because 'then how will people know what you're reading?'"
5. Hot Chicks with Stormtroopers (http://www.hotchickswithstormtroopers.com/)
Yeah. This exists. This points out two important things about modern society: a) People will never let go of the hot girl and really nerdy guy scenarios and b) Stormtroopers are somehow still relevant enough that a large amount of people find this kind of thing amusing (and are willing to pose with stormtroopers).
History
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Opinion
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Future Trends?
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